Can I have some cheese with my whine???

If you live in the Midwest ... I am sure you understand my whining.

We have had measurable rain for 20 out of 26 days this month.  Yea.  I am tired of gardening with hip waders on!!  It has been cold and damp and just miserable.  I will garden with long underwear on but I draw the line with a down jacket and mittens!!!

Now I farm.  And you know farmers.  We always complain about the weather!!!

But this year ... we actually have something to complain about.  At this moment, only 3% of the corn crop in Iowa has been planted.  Compare that to last year when 61% of the corn crop had been planted.  And the 5 year average for this time period is 28%.  So we are a little behind.

But you say .... You don't plant corn.  No .. I don't plant corn. 

But the same conditions that are slowing down the corn planting, slow down the flower crop.  You destroy the texture and the life of the soil by tilling it when it is wet.  The flower roots do not like the cold soil ... and even though they may live through it..... they are delayed and stunted by the cold temperatures.  And one day of dry, warm temperatures helps..... but it does not instantly create good planting conditions.

So my plants and I sit.

Well, actually I write lists.  Dream lists ... goal lists.... to-do lists.

And guess what???  They are long lists!!!

But we do have some good things planned for the year.

The little gazebo gets a make-over with a new paved floor.... this is on the to-do list!  We are hosting our first wedding this year and I want it to be a beautiful, happy, casual look in the garden.  And this will be important to-do.

We are creating a handicapped accessible cutting garden this year.  This is going to take some "tweaking".  Do I have it in the right place?  Is it the right height?  Do I have the right flowers in it?  Is my soil mix good?  So a somewhat-temporary garden will be created and we will see how it works.

A goal project is the lath house.

This picture was taken shortly after the lath house was built.  We built this to give our customers a place to relax and cool off in the hot August summer.  It easily runs 10 to 15 degrees cooler in the lath house.  And since that time, the curly willow to the right of the lath house, has grown and grown and grown.  Despite being chopped down many a time!!!!

But the lath house needs a make-over.  A fresh new coat of paint.  Some color inside.  A couple of fun new chairs.  A chandelier.  And a sense of whimsy. 

Yea ... what Miss Eff's needs is another sense of whimsy!!!!

And the dream list?  Well, it was a rough winter in Iowa.  And I avoided ordering 15 times the flowers I need, just because it snowed!  (I have been known to do that!)

But the rainy days have me perusing the online catalogs..... looking for replacements for the clematis I lost ... a new lily .... maybe some extra cosmos.  Maybe a new look for the south garden .........

Dreaming ... dreaming .... dreaming.

I think I need to hide the credit card!!!!!